


A Penny's Worth

by sassybitch



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: But still playing fast and loose with canon post-Civil War, Civil War Team Iron Man, Comments are moderated for my peace of mind, Gen, Goes a bit AU after that, I stole a few tidbits of canon from Ant-Man & The Wasp, James Rhodes/Sam Wilson (implied), M/M, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Not Team Cap Friendly (somewhat), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Sam Wilson redemption (hinted at), The timeline is a bit murky post Civil War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:48:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22750492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassybitch/pseuds/sassybitch
Summary: Steve attempts to have a 'conversation' with Tony; it doesn't go the way he planned.Civil War Team Iron ManDon't like, don't read.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship - Relationship, James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Comments: 25
Kudos: 540





	A Penny's Worth

**Author's Note:**

> **  
>  Please heed the tags! This fic is NOT Steve Rogers or Team Cap friendly (with the exceptions of Scott Lang and Sam Wilson). There's no need to be an ass if you continue reading and stumble across characterizations or other aspects you don't like or agree with. Use the back button! Thanks!    
>  **

"I already apologized, Tony.”

Tony barely resisted rolling his eyes. He was so _**done**_ with this damn conversation. It was the fourth such conversation in as many weeks, but Rogers seemed incapable of taking any hints since his (and his fellow fugitives) return to the Avengers Compound a little more than six weeks ago. And to think, FRIDAY had called him up from the workshop for this bullshit.

"And, for what it's worth, I accepted." Tony took a moment to dig through the 'junk' drawer that inevitably cropped up in each of his homes. He gave a satisfied little hum when he found what he was searching for. Turning back to Rogers, he leaned against the counter, holding up his find. "Here’s a hint. Do you see this penny? It's worth more than your apology."

Rogers’ once hopeful face dropped at Tony's words. Tony could admit that he took a bit of satisfaction at that.

"Now, FRI said you needed to talk to me. Was this little conversation what you wanted or was it something else?"

"Don't you think this has gone on long enough, Tony? We've been here for over a month and yet you refuse to talk to us."

"Not true. I talked to Lang. Well, to be honest, that mostly consisted of me talking Hope down from pressing charges against him for stealing that damn suit. It seems that Hank Pym is trying to remain in his daughter’s good graces, or I’m sure he would’ve used his own clout to make sure that Lang ended up back in prison. They were both rather pissed to have to go into hiding from the Accords, which they signed, because their suit was used without their permission. I don’t know if Hank will ever fully forgive Lang for that bullshit, but Janet Pym was always the nicer of the two whenever I saw them as a child, so there’s a possibility that the Lang and Pym crew will work it out now that she's back. But that's neither here nor there. Hope and I agree that Cassie Lang deserves the chance to have a healthy relationship with her father. So, while I won’t put my neck on the line for Lang anytime soon, and I doubt Hope will either if he blows this chance he’s been given, I’m not going to stand in the way of him getting another shot at being a decent father. I don’t know the guy and had he not sabotaged my suit I could’ve happily lived the rest of my life never knowing him. But if he screws up again Hope is liable to make a meal out of him and not in a way that he might enjoy. I told him as much. So, we’re not friends, but we’re not enemies either. Acquaintances is probably the best term for what we are.”

He dropped the penny back into the drawer and turned to rummage through the fridge. He hadn't planned on coming up until FRIDAY contacted him, but now that he was here, he realized he was hungry. DUM-E still hadn’t mastered smoothies that wouldn’t kill, or at least make you _wish_ you were dead, so Tony hadn’t had anything besides coffee in hours.

"I also spoke with Clint. Although _that_ was mostly just me listening to him blame me for the fact that Laura has decided to divorce him. Like it’s my fault he forgot he was retired and decided to jump back into the fray. Wanda proved that if she wanted to leave, she would leave no matter who she had to go through. She didnt need Clint's help. Anyway, he went on to say that I _**owe**_ him for my ‘betrayal’ and thus should foot the bill for his divorce lawyer. Please. If anything, I would hire Laura the best damn attorney possible.”

“You shouldn’t interfere in their marriage, Tony.”

Tony rolled his eyes at Rogers' words, frowning at the salad he picked up. Must be something Vision made for Rhodey. “No, that would be your job. But of course, we don’t talk about _that_. Anyway, Laura knows that she can live here with her kids for as long as she wants. I don’t know if she will choose to continue doing so, but if not, I’ll help _**her**_ where I can for as long as she needs. Clint is lucky she isn’t vindictive, or she would probably seek to prevent him from seeing his kids. As it stands, supervised visitation will probably be required a while. At least until after he’s no longer on house arrest. The fact that he left her without even a goodbye to their three kids will not play out well in court. And it won’t look good if she mentions those HYDRA assholes that showed up and tried to murder them. So glad she listened when Pepper showed up to rescue her.” _Rescue, hah!_ Tony snickered at his own joke.

“It’s not funny, Tony. And that is not Clint’s fault. He had no way of knowing that HYDRA would find out where he lived. They’ve had that farm for years without issue, there was no reason for him to think they wouldn’t be safe.”

“Don’t tell me what I can find funny, Rogers. And I wasn’t blaming Barton for what happened at the farm. The courts probably won’t be as lenient. No, I blame you and Natasha for the fact that Laura and her kids were minutes from being killed. After all, it was the two of you that decided it would be a _brilliant_ idea to put all of SHIELD’s files on the internet without even checking to make sure that innocent lives weren’t being put at risk by your actions.

And I get it to a certain degree, you’d just learned that HYDRA had been masquerading as SHIELD for years, but even you had to realize that not all agents were compromised. And even if they were, the likelihood that their families were as well would be pretty slim.”

“I didn’t think their address would be in the files, Tony. Clint said he never told anyone.”

Finally armed with everything he would need for his sandwich; Tony deposited his fixings onto the island and took out a plate and knife so he could begin assembling his sandwich. “You’re right, you didn’t think. First, the Barton clan were not the only innocent lives caught up in that shitstorm. Plenty of people died, were injured, or were just plain terrorized in the aftermath of the choices you and Romanoff made. And then you didn’t even bother to acknowledge what you’d done. No, _you_ kept your head in the sand and acted like your hands were clean, and _Romanoff_ made an absolute ass of herself in front of the Senate, proclaiming herself necessary. Now, I know I've made an ass of myself on several occasions, even before the Senate. The difference is that they did need me, or at least wanted to pretend that they needed my suit. Also, I hadn’t just caused a massive amount of chaos and death, while smirking at the cameras ignorant of how the death toll from my actions was actively rising.” Tony shook his head in disgust as he remembered that. From the moment he’d been alerted to the bullshit Rogers and Romanoff had dropped on the world, he’d been clamoring to do everything possible to help. When he’d watched Romanoff smugly going on about her untouchable state and how necessary she was, Tony had literally become ill. It was one thing to be confident in one’s abilities and worth, but in the face of the massive amount of innocent lives lost and forever changed, that level of arrogance had simply been nauseating.

“As for Barton, he _said_ he never told anyone, yet somehow Fury knew just when and where to show up to make a nuisance of himself. And we both know that Fury likes to keep his own council and do his own thing. And that's dangerous because he’s arrogant enough to think no one can figure out where or how to get to his secrets. Probably secures them with a stupid retinal scan of his bad eye.” Tony couldn’t help the crow of triumph he let loose at Rogers' gasp. “Wow, really? Such a cliché sci-fi villain move. Anyway, back to Laura Barton. I’ll support her in whatever way she needs and I’m not above throwing my money and influence behind her if need be. You can feel however you want to feel about that, but I don’t like watching mothers cry out of fear and concern for their children. I’d pay anything to never have to see that again.”

“If you care _so_ much then why did you send Pepper after them? Wouldn’t it have been better if you had taken the time out of your _busy_ schedule to do so.”

“Fuck you, Rogers. Unfortunately, I don’t have your super healing capabilities. Pesky that, dealing with broken ribs, a lacerated liver, and the complications from hypothermia. But of course, again, let’s not talk about _that_.” Tony put the finishing touches on his sandwich, resolutely ignoring the alarming shade of red that Rogers' face was turning and took a huge bite. _Damn, that was a good sandwich._

Taking a seat at the island to properly eat his lunch, Tony continued. "I haven't talked to Barnes much." Tony was not surprised that Rogers' posture stiffened at the mention of his best friend. "As you no doubt know, he's still recovering in Wakanda. However, after Princess Shuri helped me tweak the B.A.R.F tech to remove the effects of his trigger words, he asked King T'Challa to reach out to me. King Kitty relayed the message and I agreed to have a talk with Barnes. I forgave him and we made amends."

"But it wasn't him! Bucky-"

"didn't do anything. Yeah, I think I've heard this before. Funny how Wanda was never on the receiving end of this argument. Listening to her, you’d think I personally launched the damn bomb that killed her family. But whatever. Details. Schmetails. Back to Bucky. I agree with you that he’s not responsible for what he did while still under the Soldier programming. But that’s not important because Bucky doesn’t agree. _**Bucky**_ still feels guilt and remorse and a whole bunch of other stuff that is in direct relation to having your mind wiped repeatedly and being made to murder countless people and execute ‘missions’ with no free will. I understand the remorse and regret.

You guys love to ignore it, but I've done a lot to attempt to make amends for the bad things that have happened on my watch. Are my attempts always successful? No. But I try nonetheless, and I always will. So, as I said, I understand the guilt and regret. The other stuff? No clue. None of us have any idea what that’s like. You chose the serum; Bucky didn’t. That choice was made for him. And while Iron Man was a direct result of what the Ten Rings did to me, I never lost control of my mind. So, we can’t expect that our feelings about what Bucky did or didn’t do to be more important than his own feelings about the same thing. I gave him my forgiveness not because I felt he was responsible, but because he **_asked_** for it.”

Tony finishes his sandwich after that. A part of him hopes, for Bucky’s sake, that Rogers will listen to what Tony’s said. The bigger part of him, however, realizes that it’s very unlikely to happen. Rogers has a hard time looking beyond his own needs and desires, even when it came to his beloved Bucky Barnes.

He continues the mostly one-sided conversation as he puts the condiments and foodstuffs back where they belong. "I don't talk to T'Challa much. Running a kingdom is kind of time-consuming. But we exchange random cat memes all the time. King Kitty has a surprisingly sarcastic sense of humor."

Tony turned back to Rogers, who had by this point at least taken the time to sit down as well. Tony sat down again. "I've talked to Wilson plenty. We have mutual interests. One: he thinks you’re an _**absolute**_ ass for not telling me the truth about my parents’ deaths. That alone would endear him to me. Two: he is pissed as all hell that you left me behind in Siberia without even calling for help. Guess he takes that whole ‘leave no man behind’ shit seriously. Three: he’s gaga over my best bud Rhodey, and I can’t blame him. Rhodey is the best! I’m gonna be a bomb ass best man, and I’m already working on my toast.”

Tony ignored Rogers' scoff and the rolling of his eyes. Sure, there wasn’t an actual wedding in the making, and Tony’s certain Rhodey hasn’t even made a move yet. But he wasn’t blind. And when the time came, he was gonna be a _bomb ass best man_.

Rhodey had been pissed when the Avengers had been allowed to return to the compound and had been frosty as hell to every one of them, Wilson included. But Wilson hadn’t given up. However, unlike Rogers, who pestered Tony to accept his apology at every turn, Sam respected Rhodey’s desires. He gave him space.

When he found himself in the same room with Rhodey, he would attempt to engage him in conversation. If Rhodey ignored him, Sam didn’t make a big deal out of it or try to make Rhodey feel like he owed it to Sam to reciprocate his attempts at conversation. After a while, Rhodey started to participate in conversations with Sam, even initiate some of them. Rhodey still gave the rest of the Avengers a wide berth and icy reception, but Sam was the exception to that seemingly unbreakable rule.

Rhodey had even helped Sam with his misplaced guilt over Rhodey’s paralysis. Over the last six weeks, they had grown closer and Tony figured it was only a matter of time before one made a move. Rhodey’s constant gushing over Sam (though he knew Rhodey would deny that he was gushing; _‘I’m just making conversation, Tones’_ ) kind of made Tony a little wistful for a romance of his own.

“So yeah, I talk to Sam often. I talk to you, obviously. And during these 'conversations', I take on my weekly burden of ‘Tony I’m so sorry’ with as much grace as I can muster.” Tony ignores Rogers' indignant huff. “And I’ve also talked to Natasha. Though I truly wish I hadn’t. The same goes for Wanda. But at least with Wanda, I don’t have to look at her day in and out.”

"That's because you wouldn't let her come home."

"True……. though, technically, I guess it's not. The Avengers Compound is for _active and Accords compliant_ Avengers after all. And since she currently isn't either of those things, she has no place here. Besides, she makes Vision uncomfortable and I refuse to let him be uncomfortable in his own home."

When Rogers & Co. had been allowed to come back to the U.S. it had not been without stipulations. The president hadn’t wanted to give them a full pardon, thinking it would send the wrong message to the irate U.S. citizens, but worried that imprisonment wouldn’t send that great of a message either. And Ross’ improper and illegal use of the RAFT had made them wary of trying to use that or a similar facility to house the fugitives. They wanted to make sure Rogers and his team paid for their actions, but at the same time wanted to avoid implying that they were villains too. It was a slippery slope and the whole thing made his head hurt. Tony knew that he was biased, but he was certain that in several parts of the world, the Avengers _were_ considered villains. Ultimately, with the help of members from each country that had signed the original Accords, it had been decided that they would be remanded to U.S. custody, fitted with monitors, and held at the Avengers Compound. Captain Indignant had raised a fuss, of course; Tony had expected no less. The monitors had been created in Wakanda, made of Vibranium, and had tracking devices embedded within. Outside of missions, mandated community service for all members (to take place in the various countries that had been affected by the Avengers and their bullshit if the countries were amenable to even having them within their borders), and required therapy sessions (because it was definitely needed) the fugitive Avengers would be confined to the compound for five years. The first year was the most restrictive, with them only being allowed out for community service and Avenger duties. The second one was a bit more lenient as they were given a leash of sorts, allowed to venture most anywhere within a three-mile radius of the compound. After that, the latitude they would be given would be evaluated on a bi-annual basis until the five years were up.

Tony thought it was both too harsh and not harsh enough, and his feelings were echoed throughout the world, as evidenced by various protests around the globe. But ultimately it had been chosen as the best course of action since they would still need the help of every super-powered or enhanced individual that was willing to help when it came time to face Thanos. Rogers and his cohorts were idiots, but Tony felt they could at least be trusted to step in when the world was on the line, even if in some cases it was only so they could prove to the world just how much the Avengers were still needed. Tony didn’t trust them to have _his_ back, except for maybe Sam and T’Challa (and Bruce if he ever decided to come back from New Asgard), but he figured they wouldn’t let the world burn to spite him.

However, the biggest hurdle after the punishment was decided had been getting the Rogues to sign. Luckily, T’Challa had taken care of that with ease, informing everyone except for Barnes that he was rescinding his offer of asylum unless they could provide _**fact-based**_ reasons for why they didn’t agree with the Accords. Of course, to do so they had to read them. Once they did, it turned out that they mostly agreed with them as written and the parts that they didn't like were negotiable. Who knew? Tony had wanted to bitch-slap every one of them when they acted surprised about that fact. Every. Last. One.

"The only reason Wanda isn't an Avenger at the moment is because of you." Oh right, Tony had been having a conversation with Rogers. Oh, joy.

Tony didn’t bother holding back from rolling his eyes. "No, the only reason Wanda isn't an Avenger at the moment is that she still refuses to sign the damn Accords."

"Because they want to suppress her abilities!"

"No, they want her to learn to control her powers. Big difference. Yes, she would have to wear a mild suppression collar. But it only suppresses uncontrollable surges of her power. Charles Xavier assured me that it was harmless and given her track record she should understand that she’s lost the public’s trust. Besides, is it really any different from her rooms in the Embassy? No, I know it’s not. Charles informed me that he was tasked with having her room equipped with shields that would prevent her from hurting anyone in the embassy if she lost control of her powers again.”

“So, another prison? Seriously, Tony!”

“Screw you, Rogers! I’m so tired of being the bad guy every time something doesn’t go your way or meet your stupidly high standards. Where was this concern when it came to Bruce, huh? You do remember Bruce, don't you? The _other_ teammate you cast aside for that red-headed, vicious little witch. You didn’t bat an eye when you learned that Fury had a fucking _**cage**_ installed on the Hellicarrier for the Hulk. Why is Wanda different?" Taking a deep breath, Tony forces himself to calm down. "Look, if she wants to be treated like she’s not a threat, then she needs to stop being one. If she doesn't commit to the training Charles has designed to help her gain control, she will remain in this mess that she's made. People fear her because of her actions, Rogers. You'd do well to remember that. So, no, I will not have her living here while Vision is here. And if she ever gets her head out of her ass and decides she wants to learn control and sign the damn Accords, Vision has an open invitation to come live with me.”

“What does that mean?”

Damn, Tony hadn’t meant to let that slip just yet. Sighing, Tony went ahead and answered, “I’ll be moving out in about six weeks. Renovation of my new home is almost complete.” He’d have to make sure that Laura knew about his plans as well. With the news of her pending divorce, she might not be comfortable living at the Compound any longer.

“Why? This is your home.”

“No, it isn’t. Too much has happened within these walls and I’m no longer comfortable here. It’s gonna be a bitch on the bots though. They like this place.”

“So, thinking of yourself as always.”

“And there we go. Thanks for that. I was almost fooled into believing you gave a damn about me there for a moment. Don’t worry, I gifted the Compound to the Accords Council. They might choose to implement rules around here in the future, but for now, the profits from the sales of Avengers merchandise should be more than enough for the upkeep of the Compound and the utilities. You won’t need me here. We’ll see each other on missions and at PR events, but beyond that, we won’t have to. It’s best for everyone.”

"Tony, this is stupid. You’re going to move away from your home because you’re angry at me. Gonna disrupt Vision’s life, move the bots to somewhere they don’t want to be, all because of a fight. Families fight Tony, that doe-”

“Don’t you dare, Rogers! We are _not_ a fucking family. You don’t even know the meaning of the word.” Tony stood up, taking a calming breath. “Now, I’ve stayed up here long enough and I still don’t know what you called me up here for.”

Rogers' face was mulish as he answered, “To apologize. As I’ve done several times. You just haven’t accepted it.”

“Actually, I have accepted it. But that’s not the problem here. You expect that my acceptance means that I’ve forgiven you and that things will go back to the way they were before. That’s a dick move, by the way. If your apology was genuine, it wouldn’t be so self-serving. I accepted your apology, but I don’t forgive you for your lies. I will never forgive you for lying to my face daily, even if it was a lie of omission, about the fact that my parents didn’t die in a car wreck. You can claim that you didn’t know how to tell me or want to hurt me, but I don’t buy it. At any point, you could have told Rhodey, Pepper, or Happy and they would’ve made sure to tell me in a way that would hurt the least. They would’ve made sure I had support when I found out. But instead, you let me find out in the most horrific way possible and when I lashed out, which was natural considering that I’d just watched my parents be murdered, you didn’t try to calm me down or any of that. No, you just doubled down on your lie and then when that didn’t work, you treated me like your enemy and left me for dead in that HYDRA base. You never considered for a second what might happen to me, leaving me like that. What if the base wasn’t so abandoned, Rogers? Did that ever cross your mind? Of course, it didn’t, because in the grand scheme of things I didn’t matter. But with therapy and good friends, I’ve mostly managed to push past that enough to work with you. But I will never again be stupid enough to trust you. If you can’t live with that, it’s on you. Not me.”

“I don’t accept that.”

“You don’t have a fucking choice!”

“Tony-”

“Steve, that’s enough.” Tony looked up at the new voice. Sam Wilson was standing just inside the kitchen doorway, expression thunderous, Rhodey wheeling in next to him only moments later. As far as Tony knew, that was the most Sam had said to Rogers outside of missions since they’d returned to the States. He wasn’t sure at the cause of the rift, though he could make an educated guess, but he had noticed it.

"You okay, Tones?" Rhodey looked extremely pissed off, like a mother bear ready to protect its cub, and Tony felt some warmth at that. He wasn’t okay, he was pissed at Rogers for throwing ‘family’ in his face yet again, but he would be.

"Yeah. I think I'm done here though, honey bear. You wanna give me a lift down to the lab?"

Rhodey's look softened for a moment, obviously catching Tony's real mood and the subject change, though he mock-glared at Tony just a moment later. "If you try to sit in my lap _**again**_ Stark, I will dump your bony ass on the floor."

Tony dramatically clutched at his chest with one hand, "Platypus! You wound me! My ass is _not_ bony. It's pert and perfect and you know it."

Rhodey gave him an unimpressed look as he looked him up and down, before rolling his eyes. "It's alright, I guess. Wilson's is better."

Tony laughed in delight. Looks like Rhodey and Sam had moved into the openly flirtatious stage. Awesome! He seriously needed to start looking around at the best places to host a bachelor party. Bomb ass best man? Bomb ass bachelor party!

"Ugh, military types always stick together." Rhodey turned and started wheeling towards the elevator, Tony following behind. Tony turned once they reached the bank of elevators, watching as Sam and Rogers stared at each other silently. "Wilson!"

Sam turned with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"I just finished some new upgrades for Redwing. Wanna test 'em out?"

Sam smiled (Tony was certain that it was the gap-toothed smile more than the perfect ass (yes, he’d noticed) that made Rhodey fall for the other man) and nodded his head. "Be there in ten Stark. Jimbo _really_ loves how my ass looks in the test-flight suit."

Tony cackled, Rhodey groaned, and FRIDAY obligingly closed the elevator doors and whisked them down to the lab.

\----

**END**

**Author's Note:**

> ***Steve scoffing at the idea of Sam and Rhodey exploring a romance is not because he is homophobic. I have a lot of issues with the way Steve Rogers is characterized in the MCU, but I don't believe he is homophobic. His reaction is mostly due to his annoyance with Tony's enthusiasm about a romance that at that moment seems to be mainly a figment of his imagination. Nothing more, nothing less. Just wanted to clarify in case that wasn't clear.***
> 
> Comments are moderated for my peace of mind. Please take any negative or critiquing opinions elsewhere. I realize that we all see these characters differently, and we're all allowed to have different opinions, but that’s no excuse to be a dick. 
> 
> Thanks so much for taking the time to read my fic (and this long ass note lol) and (hopefully) leaving a comment and/or kudos!
> 
> -Sassy


End file.
